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Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q)

What is a dietary supplement?

According to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or DSHEA, a dietary supplement is any product that contains one or more dietary ingredients such as a vitamin, mineral, herb or other botanical, amino acid or other ingredient used to supplement the diet. Dietary supplements are not food additives (such as saccharin) or drugs.

What are the benefits of dietary supplements?

There are many compelling reasons to consider dietary supplements as a complement to nutritional intakes. While a good diet and regular exercise are the foundation for better health, research shows that most adults and children don’t eat the way they should. The first step you should take toward greater nutritional awareness and the adoption of other healthy lifestyle choices. Whether taking a multivitamin, herb or specialty products, you can and will live healthier lives by supplementing your diet.

How are dietary supplements regulated in Canada?

Health Canada in their Natural Health Products Regulations give Canadians ready access to a wide range of Natural Health Products (NHPs) that are safe, effective and of high quality.

Because of these Regulations, there is now more information on the label so you can make informed decisions. As well, because each product goes through regulatory approvals, you can be more confident in the safety and effectiveness of NHPs. The pre-market review of products will also assure that what is on the label is what is in the bottle, and that health claims are supported by proper evidence.

How do I know if your natural health products have been authorized for sale by Health Canada?

You can identify products that have been authorized for sale in Canada by looking for the eight-digit Natural Product Number (NPN) on the label. A NPN means that the product can be legally sold in Canada and is safe and effective when used according the instructions on the label.

What is an NPN number?

An NPN number is assigned by Health Canada to products manufactured in Canada by producers who have submitted enough human evidence in support of the product’s health claim. Submitted evidence includes but is not limited to Health Canada requirements for product registration, and the product has been deemed safe and effective when used according to the label.

What about your products which do not have an NPN number?

Obtaining a Health Canada NPN number for our products can in some cases be a long process. Although we strive to have NPN numbers on every single product we manufacture, a few remain without. We are making all efforts to have these products approved by Health Canada in the near future.

However, you can rest assured that all of our manufactured products undergo the same stringent quality process as per Health Canada’s regulations.

Where do you source your ingredients from?

In today’s business landscape, there are a wide breadth of ingredient suppliers and selecting a quality supplier has become a difficult task. Provita Nutrition has cultivated long-standing relationships with all of our ingredient suppliers. Routine inspections of supplier facilities, processes and quality assurance procedures are part of our procedures. We further conduct random third party laboratory examinations of our ingredients to confirm identity, purity and quality.

Our suppliers source ingredients from all over the world including Canada, USA, Japan, China, and India. In our research for quality ingredients, we often find specific locations and/or manufacturers around the globe have the right expertise, quality plants and best processes for extraction. For example, Curcumin (an extract of Turmeric) we find is best sourced from quality-focused established Indian suppliers.

Do you use synthetic ingredients in your products?

Although we strive to formulate most or all of our products using natural ingredients, we do use a number of synthetic ingredients (as do most dietary supplement manufacturers). You should not be afraid to consume synthetic ingredients, as they are not unnatural, often times superior to naturally derived versions, and are just as safe to consume.

A natural ingredient identical to one found in a plant can be synthesized in a laboratory. There are many reasons why this is done today, such as creating a dependable supply, controlling purity and/or contamination, improve efficiency and economy of scale, be more environmentally friendly (i.e. pollution, endangered species), or just the plain fact that extraction of some natural ingredients is just not feasible.

A small number of natural ingredients cannot be fully synthesized, for example Vitamin E. With such ingredients, Provita Nutrition always uses the naturally-sourced versions.

Do you use other non-medical ingredients ("fillers") in your products?

We use fillers only when it’s necessary to achieve the right concentration necessary to product a high quality product. In many cases, the medicinal ingredient quantity per capsule required to achieve therapeutic results is very small. In these cases, fillers are necessary to ensure dosage stability and capsule integrity.

We use Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) primarily as filler, and sometimes Magnesium Stearate (MGST) to stabilize the ingredient so it can be made available to you. Please check our product label for details on our usage of fillers.

What is Microcrystalline Cellulose, and where does it come from?

Hypromellose is an encapsulating substance, used to create the hard gelatin capsule shells which we call “vegetarian”. Microcrystalline Cellulose is a filler which gets mixed in with the active ingredients. Both come from cellulose (from trees) and are therefore of vegetarian origin.

Are your products GMO-free and / or Organic?

Whenever possible, Provita Nutrition chooses GMO-free and Organic ingredient suppliers. However, we are careful not to claim GMO-free or organic on the label since sometimes animals, plant soil or microbes are not GMO-free and/or some supplier farm GMO-free / Organic and are not yet certified by large regulatory agencies.

However, we can verify that all hard gelatin capsule shells we use are GMO-free, Kosher and Halal approved.

Do your capsule shells use gelatin from cow (bovine) or pig (porcine)?

A limited number of our products use capsule shells made from cow (bovine) gelatin. All other products use vegetarian source for gelatin capsules. We do not use capsule shells made from pig (porcine) gelatin. Please check the product label for this information.

Do your products have a Certificate of Analysis readily available?

Yes, according to GMP and Health Canada requirements, we generate a Certificate of Analysis (CoA) for ALL our production lots. The certificate follows standard GMP practices and are backed by our microbial and heavy metal tests which we outsource to reputable Canadian laboratories.

Certificates of Analysis for our products are available upon request.

How do I know your products are high quality, and that I am getting what I pay for?

Provita Nutrition & Health takes pride in the products we build, whether it’s just a simple multi-vitamin or a complex nutraceutical.

We achieve the highest quality, dosage and purity by using most up-to-date manufacturing technologies, top-tier ingredients and by working in partnership with herbalists, formulators and naturopathic doctors from Europe and North America. The medicinal ingredients in our products are derived from all major naturopathic pharmacopoeias: Western, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda .

Our production process is compliant with GMP and Health Canada stringent regulations, which means that quality control procedures are followed every step of the way. We also conduct third party testing which ensures accurate and unbiased test results. Representative samples from each production run are stored on-site for long-term stability testing, which ensures that each product batch maintains potency all the way to its expiry date.

We pride ourselves in operating and maintaining our premises above and beyond Health Canada standards. We always clean our equipment and facilities (including floors, walls, doors and vents) at the beginning and end of each day. In between production runs, the equipment used is taken apart, cleaned, and sanitized. We use only Health Canada approved cleaning solutions, which are food safe and environmentally friendly. We use isolated production rooms for mixing, encapsulation, packaging and labeling to ensure enhanced cleanliness during manufacturing. Routine meetings between production and quality control departments are held to maintain the highest level of cleanliness.

What does it mean if there are no allergen warnings on your label?

If an allergen does not appear on our product label, this usually means the product is produced in a facility that also produces other products containing the allergen. However, we strictly adhere to GMP guidelines which prevent cross-contamination of materials produced in the same facility. Therefore, the risk of the said allergen being present in our product is insignificant to none.

How do I buy your products?

Our line of products has been originally developed for the results-driven European market. Today, you can find Provita Nutrition & Health products in select pharmacies, health stores, naturopathic clinics and online across Europe. We are currently working on growing our presence In Canada and the USA. We truly believe in our products, and want to ensure you and your family easy access to our superior quality product lines.

Can I return your product directly to you?

We take returns directly from retailers, distributors and practitioners who have purchased directly from Provita Nutrition. if you are an end-customer, please contact the merchant who sold you our product(s).

Why do you manufacture under two separate brands?

Our two product lines (“Provita Nutrition” and “Konig Laboratorium”) are manufactured in our BC, Canada licensed production facility. We initially started with Provita Nutrition brand which focuses on products promoting a healthy everyday lifestyle. “Konig Laboratorium” brand was crafted to represent a line of products focused on specific health concerns (such as cancer, cholesterol, heart disease, etc.).

About us

With over a decade of experience manufacturing and distributing natural health products in Europe, we strive to provide truly advanced therapeutic solutions through research, innovation and quality leading edge formulations.